Gardening can be more than just growing plants. It is not only a hobby, but an opportunity to learn new things, connect with nature and grow as a person. Whether you’re an experienced gardener or just starting out, keeping a garden journal can significantly enhance your gardening experience.

A garden journal provides many benefits — more than just a record of what you’ve planted and when. It becomes a valuable tool for planning and preserving the memories of how your garden evolves over the years. It can help you meet your gardening goals, like learning botanical names of your plants for example. Your journal will help you celebrate successes and learn from mistakes, and best of all, it helps you remember what you planted where!

Starting a garden journal doesn’t require special skills or equipment — just a notebook or digital app where you can record your observations regularly.

There are many types of journals. The easiest way to begin is with a simple notebook with lined paper for notes and lists, monthly calendars, graph paper for garden diagrams, plain paper for drawing plants or attaching photos, pockets for plant tags, soil test results, and seed packets.

You could also track your garden electronically on your phone or computer using apps, folders, spreadsheets, documents, and/or photographs. If you prefer a hardcopy version, there are many attractive and comprehensive journals that are pre-organized that can be purchased.

Here are some suggestions for the type of information you might want to keep in your journal:

Garden layout and design: Include sketches or diagrams of your garden beds, and name, number or color code them for easy reference.

Plant information: Common and botanical names of plants, purchase location, planting dates, location in the garden, care instructions, growth observations, bloom times, and harvest and blooming dates. Store seed packets and plant labels in plastic sleeves and include purchase receipts as many nurseries guarantee plants for a period of time if they don’t thrive.

Weather and climate: Record temperatures, frost dates, rainfall and unusual weather events.

Photos and drawings: Add photos or sketches of plants, garden layouts, or even pressed flowers and leaves to create a visual record.

Observations and reflections: Note successes, failures, likes, dislikes, and any other insights gained throughout the growing season. Include when you observe pollinators or pests and on which plants.

Tasks and maintenance: Dates for sowing, transplanting, watering, weeding, fertilizing, pest control and pruning.

If you aren’t in the habit of keeping a journal, schedule time for it daily, weekly or monthly until journaling becomes a habit. Remember, there are no good journals or bad journals. A garden journal is for your use to provide what you want and need.

Submit gardening questions to csumg2@elpasoco.com or call 719-520-7684. The in-person help desk is open 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Visit elpaso.extension.colostate.edu and register for upcoming classes at epcextension.eventbrite.com.